I know it's blasphemy to say it, but this was a make-or-break-it issue for me. Don't get me wrong, the story and art have been good so far... but I just wanted something a little more. The story to date had compelled me more to go back and re-read Moore's run than it had compelled me to care about and want to follow this new Alec Holland. So, "Swamp Thing" was on the budgetary chopping block. — And then this issue came and blew that all to hell. The relationship between Abby and Alec finally really grows here, and we are given a reason that Abby has sought him out, one that stretches back to both their childhoods. I think this may have been the first real surprise for me in this series, and it was done extremely well. The image of the skeleton girl and the plant creature hugging behind Alec and Abby as they kiss just felt unexpected and earnest and really sold me on this Swamp Thing. The flashback to Alec's childhood and his trust in the Green even as a child also helped to cement his character as valid, and the fact that he finally begins to assume his role in this issue gave the collective release that so many people have been clamoring for since issue 2. There have been a few comments that this seemed rushed, and I'll agree, but I feel that it was only a single page or two, and that it was warranted. The artwork is amazing and affirms Paquette's role in shaping this book (after his absence last issue). There are a few layouts that suffer from strange panel-to-panel flow, but it's excusable with the quality of the work as a whole. And I have to say, of all the disturbing imagery in this series, nothing has come close to the eery smile on Alec's glowing-green-eyed face as he first begins to use the Green's power. Paquette's facial expressions in this issue tell as much of the story as any of the writing. And the threat of the Parliament being burned down was another great, unexpected twist. A real status quo changer that I didn't see coming (which honestly, doesn't happen all that often in "superhero" comics). So like I said, I am completely sold, finally.